“Southern-gothic-rock-country-folk”

-Discorder

sINGER-SONGWRITER

The music of singer-songwriter Benton Roark has been described as “floor-stomping blues” (The Georgia Straight), “an experience of deep and darkling beauty” (The Austin Chronicle), and “dirty-southern-gothic-rock-country-folk” (Discorder Magazine). Based in Toronto but hailing originally from Atlanta, GA where early efforts labelled him a “crafty folk experimentalist” (Creative Loafing), he has maintained a tireless international career for over a decade as a solo artists and with projects like Rollaway, Arkora, and The Benton Roark Band, counting six albums of original songwriting to his name and forging an original sound of modern roots and gothic Americana.

The latest record featuring his work as a songwriter and bandleader - Rollaway’s Modern Epic (2019) - drew comparisons to the Stax/Volt catalogue, Sea Level, and the Allman Brothers, and and was called “superb both in its instrumental explorations and its soaring harmonies” (The Vancouver Sun). In 2016, his cycle Songs from the Rainshadow’s Edge (Redshift Records) was nominated as Composition of the Year by the Western Canadian Music Awards, earning descriptions such as “a deep unity of music and text” (Vital Weekly) and “journey beyond the edge and back again” (The WholeNote). In many ways, this work served as a chamber companion record to 2010’s The Return of the Lonesome Coyote Patchwork Pulpit. Inviting comparisons to Fleet Foxes, Neko Case, and The Band, the record garnered critical acclaim (“tone poems in the style of My Morning Jacket,” Maverick Magazine). In 2015 Roark released Deep in the Pocket, Still No Change (Rollaway Records) – which has been featured on CBC, CKCU, CFMU, and CKUW, and was named CD of the Week in 2017 by the Vancouver Sun, which described it as “heartfelt”, “magisterial”, and possessing “a relaxed funkiness.” Deep in the Pocket was Roark’s fifth record of original work in a songwriting career that has spanned multiple projects and locales, including his native Atlanta, New York, Vancouver, St. John’s, and Toronto.

Collaborators past and present include Jon Lundbom (Austin, Big Five Chord), Brendan Krieg (Nashville, Moondrifter), Adam Jones and Julia Pinckney (Tuscon, JPJQ), Jen Lewin (Vancouver, JLB), Tim Sars (Vancouver, Tiny Islands), Guillermo Subauste (Toronto, The Honeyrunners), Dan Morphy (Toronto, TorQ Percussion), Jonny Allen (NYC, Triplepoint), Adam Beer-Colacino (Sinner’s Choir, JV Boogaloo Squad), Sandy Morris (St. John’s, Wonderful Grand Band), Carole Bestvater (St. John’s, Youngtree and the Blooms), and Josh Ward (St. John’s, Hey Rosetta!). Roark’s current explorations have taken his writing into the realm of string band genres - new folk and progressive bluegrass. He is currently at work on a record of new songs with some of St. John’s finest trad players, and a song cycle based on the poetry of friend and poet Luke Hathaway scheduled for tour in the summer of 2023.